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COFFEE 
PLANTING 



H I LLMAN 




PUBLISHED BY 

WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director 
Chilean Nitrate Propaganda 

NITRATE OP SODA 
Laic Proleoor in Chcmiitry In the State A4plcttltural College of New Jersey 

13 John Street, New York 



Mi 



Tbe Kiclurdion PrM« 

159 WlUlani Street 

New York 




Coffee Planting 



A Short Treatise 



Compiled with Special Reference to the Conditions 
of Culture 



Cuba and Porto Rico 



K-: 



Preface 



In the preparation of this brief treatise, 
the following leading authorities, among 
others, have been consulted : 

The United States Census Returns of Cuba 
and Porto Rico, 1899. (Washington 
Government Printing Office, 1900). 

Culture du Cafeier, par E. Raoul, Paris, 1 897. 

Traite Pratique de la Culture du Cafe, par 
A. Rigaud, Paris, 1896. 

The Improvement of Indian Agriculture, by 
Dr. J. A. Voelcker, London, 1893. 

Tropical Agriculture, by P. L. Simmonds, 
E. & F. N. Spon, London. 

Ceylon Soils and Manures, a Report to the 
Ceylon Coffee Planters' Association, by 
John Hughes, London, 1879. 

La Agricultura Espanola ; Cafe, by Miguel 
Mayol, Valencia, 1901. 

Joseph— HiLLM AN. 
London, July, 1902. 



Coffee Planting. 

A Short Treatise, Compiled with Special Reference to the 

Conditions of Culture in 

Cuba and Porto Rico. 



FEW more profitable openings exist for the introduction 
of capital and the application ot well directed energy 
than are to be found in the skilled cultivation, on 
scientific principles, of coffee plantations in these tropical 
neighbours of the United States. 

In Cuba, there are said to have been, in 1847, no less 
than 2,064 plantations under culture with coffee; and the 
annual crop, notwithstanding the thriftless system of 
cultivation then existing, amounted to about 50,000,000 
pounds annuallv. F"rom that date the production rapidly 
declined, and in the last decades of the past century Cuba 
imported a large proportion of her consumption of coffee 
from Porto Rico. 

During the same period, the cultivation of coifee in 
Porto Rico increased, but it still remains capable of great 
expansion on extensive tracts, now almost unproductive, 
on the hills and in the valleys of the table lands. 

The coffee of Porto Rico is distinguished by its high 
quality, although hitherto it has chiefly found appreciation 
in the markets of France, Italy and Spain. 

Of the coifee of Cuba, it mav be said that it responds 
to careful culture and preparation bv a richness of flavour 
and capacity for heavy yields unsurpassed in any other 
West India Island or in South America. 

These well established facts should point to the revival 
and development, under present favourable auspices 

OCT 22 iyi3 



4 



Coffee of good government and an enlightened agricultural 
Planting system, of an important and highly lucrative industry. 

The fault ot the old system of working coffee plantations 
was that ot reckless exhaustion of the soil. Sites were 
selected, clearings were made, and the land was planted and 
worked for all it was worth, until its store of available plant 
food had been used up ; then the plantation was abandoned 
and the process of selection, clearing, planting, cropping 
and robbery of the soil was repeated. 

Such a mode of procedure was — it is scarcely needful to 
point out — neither rational nor economical. It involved 
the wastage of large tracts of excellent land, specially suited 
for the culture of coffee, and a needless sinking of capital. 
The life of a cotl^ee plantation managed under this vicious 
system was limited necessarily to a comparatively short term 
of years. 

The abstraction from the soil of the constituents of a 
succession of crops, of whatever nature, exhausts, sooner or 
later, the store of natural fertility, or, in other words, the 
supply of plant food, which the soil originally contained, 
and sterility, more or less complete, follows for want of the 
principal plant foods — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash 
and lime ; and this sterility or exhaustion can neither be 
prevented nor remedied by any system of mere cultivation, 
especially where no rotation of cropping is practicable. 

Cultivation carried out with thoroughness will, indeed, 
hasten the natural processes by which the fertilizing elements 
contained in the soil are rendered soluble and capable of 
assimilation by the plant, but it cannot replace what has 
been removed in the shape of crop, leaves and prunings. 
On this fact is based the necessity for the use of manures ; 
and in manuring amply and judiciously lies the secret of 
the maintenance ot the plantation. 

Before pursuing this branch of the subject, however, it 
will be well to lav down some rules for guidance in the 
important matters of soil, climatic conditions and shelter. 

The coffee shrub requires a deep soil. If the tap root 
be stopped by rocks, tufa, or compact clay, the plant dies. 
The composition of the best coffee soils varies considerably, 
but in those of Porto Rico it is found that sand is a principal 
constituent of the majority of them, whilst the surface is 
rich in humus, the product of decayed forest vegetation. 



Heavv clays are altogether unsuitable, and the propor- Coffee 
tion ot" clav must, in no case, be such as to induce the Planting 
retention of stagnant moisture. 5 

Calcareous soils are not suitable, although the presence 
of a moderate quantity of lime is an advantage. 

A relatively high percentage ot iron in the soil and sub- 
soil is not an objection; indeed, ferruginous and silicious 
soils have been sought after since it has been remarked that 
the ravages of the hemileia vastatrix, or leaf blight, are less 
frequent ami less sex'ere on them than elsewhere. 

The presence in the soil of a large proportion of potash, 
as in the ter-ra roxa of Brazil, is undoubtedb' an advantage. 

A poor sub-soil may be put up with, pro\'ided that it 
be not formed of a damp clav or a compact tufa. 

The climatic conditions favourable to the remunerative 
culture of the coffee shrub are tolerablv well understood. 
The mean temperature of the highlands of both Cuba and 
Porto Rico, affording as it does a climate of perpetual 
spring, with a range of scarceh' more than eleven degrees 
between the temperature of the hottest and coldest months, 
is admirably suited to the requirements of the plant. 

In Horto Rico, the finest coffee has hitherto been 
produced at altitudes between 600, and 2500 ieet above the 
sea level. Upon these highlands, a constant breeze cools 
the atmosphere, and the well-distributed rainfall, averaging 
from 60 inches annually at San Juan, to 100 inches in the 
northeast of the island and upon the highlands of the 
interior, tends to equalize the temperature of the seasons. 
Thus, vegetation does not suffer even in periods of com- 
parative drought, whilst during the rainy season the 
precipitation is seldom torrential. On the so uthern slope 
of the island, however, both rainfall and atmospheric 
moisture are considerably less, so that in some districts 
irrigation is advantageous, if not absolutely iiecessarw 

As regards Cuba, whilst coffee will grow almost any- 
where in the island, it thrives best at altitudes of between 
T,500 and 2,500 feet. 

The question of shelter and shading is one of some 
little difficulty. It was formerly the general practice in 
Porto Rico, and in parts of Cuba, to provide shade trees, 
under the belief that the coffee shrub would not develop 
properly or thrive continuoush' without them. But later 



H 



Coffee experience has shown that, in the less torrid districts, shade 
Planting is unnecessary, it not prejudicial. This is explained bv the 
tact that the only benefit afforded by the presence of shade 
trees is that of lessening the force of the sun's rays; whilst, 
on the other hand, the consumption of the fertilizing matters 
of the soil and manures by the shade trees is to the detriment 
of the cotfee plant. 

In Java, shading is universal, it is general also in 
Venezuela; in Brazil, however, the absence ot shade trees 
is believed to ensure larger yields, although it is said bv 
some to lessen the duration of the producing power of the 
plantation. Voelcker is emphatic as to the advantages of 
shading in Coorg and Mysore. 

On the whole, it may be assumed that shading is a 
matter in which local practice will be, in most cases, a safe 
guide, especially if viewed in conjunction with other and 
economical considerations. In particular, there is the fact 
that, both in Cuba and Porto Rico, numerous marketable 
fruits are borne on trees suitable for shade and shelter 
purposes. Thus, a plantation may be utilized for both 
fruit and coffee culture without detriment to either, and 
with corresponding profit to the planter, if only regard be 
had to proper cultivation and to the adequate supply ot 
available plant foods. 

Only in cases where trees of the leguminous order are 
employed for shade purposes is any complication involved 
in the question of the nature of the manures to be applied. 
Plants of the order o{ kguminosic have the unique faculty of 
deriving their supplies ot nitrogen mainly from the atmos- 
phere, and ot accumulating nitrogen in the soil. Thus, in 
the case of the introduction ot plants of this botanical order 
as shade trees, allowance has to be made tor this special store 
of soil nitrogen when making provision, in the shape of 
manures, for the nitrogenous plant-food ot the cotfee shrub. 
It has, however, to be borne in mind that it is only the 
requirements of the plantation in nitrogen that are thus 
affected ; the leguminous shade trees, like those belonging to 
other orders, making demands upon the constituents of the 
soil and manures for the phosphates, potash, lime and other 
mineral elements of their plant-food. 

Where it may be deemed advisable to plant shade trees, 
simply as such, the Albizzia Lebbeck — the French Bois 
noir, — which has always been employed by coffee planters 



in the Antilles, would appear to unite the greatest number ot Coffee 
desirable qualities and, locally at least, to give the best results. Planting 

The Brysonima spicata is a shade tree much employed in ~j 
the British West Indies. It possesses the advantages ot 
sparse foliage, rapid growth, of affording shelter against the 
wind as well as the sun, of great hardiness and of not 
attaining too great a size. 

The method of propagation which has, in the past, been 
largely adopted in Porto Rico, by utilizing off-shoots and 
self-sown plants, is to be deprecated, and the system of 
sowing carefully selected seed in specially prepared seed- 
beds is that which should be followed. 

The site chosen for the seed-bed should be on a slight 
incline, so as to afford natural drainage; it should occupy a 
sheltered position and possess a good surface la\er of 
vegetable soil, which must be worked until a fine tilth is 
secured. It will have been cleared of all roots, stones, etc., 
and, in most cases, it should be enriched with a good dress- 
ing of well-rotted barnyard manure. 

The sowing is best made in the month of February, 
and the coffee grains to be sown should be selected for their 
size, weight and perfect formation. The grains are planted 
at a depth of about an inch and a half, the finger or a small 
stick being used for the piurpose, and after they are placed 
in the hole the earth is pressed down over them with the 
hand. The sowings should be made in rows distant about 
six inches from each other, the space between each grain 
sown being the same. In about twenty days the young 
coffee plants will begin to appear, and they will remain in 
the seed-bed for a year and a half, when they will have 
attained a height of about thirty inches and be ready for 
transplantation to the site selected for the coffee grove. 

The seed-beds must be carefully kept free from weeds, 
and be irrigated frequently with small quantities of water, 
so as to maintain a constant, but not excessive degree of 
moisture; provision must be made also for sheltering the 
young plants from excessive solar heat and from strong 
winds. 

Before transplantation, the lower branches of the young 
shrub are cut away, so as to obtain a clean and straight 
stem with a crown at a convenient height for the gathering 
of the crop. 



Coffee The best season for transplantation is the autumn 

Planting equinox. 

?_, To obtain maximum yields, the following directions 

must be carefully adhered to in laving out the plantation : 

1. Select a fertile soil, rich in humus, and lying so that 

natural drainage and a good aspect are secured. 

2. Pick out vigorous and well-grown young plants. 
They must be removed without breakage of the 
roots and with a good ball of earth about them. 

3. It the tap root project beyond the ball of earth, it 
should be cut with a sharp knife, reducing it to a 
length of about eight inches. 

4. Plant in rows eight feet apart and at a distance of 

eight feet in the rows. This will give approximately 
700 plants to the acre. This as a general rule, but 
in the case of exposed situations closer planting is 
advisable. In such conditions, small, compact trees, 
topped at about 2 feet 6 inches, will give the best 
results. 

5. Plant in rainy weather and with the soil in a tolerably 

moist condition. 

6. Previous to planting, prepare holes eighteen inches 
square and eighteen inches in depth. In preparing 
the holes, the surface soil should be placed to the 
right, and the soil from the bottom of the hole to 
the left. The latter should be mixed with about two 
pounds of well-rotted dung. About eight days 
should intervene between the opening of the holes 
and the planting. The surface soil, which from 
having been exposed to the atmosphere is most 
suitable for contact with the roots, is first to be used, 
and the hole is then to be filled up with the remain- 
ing, manured soil. The plants must be carefully 
placed and the holes filled so as to leave no lodgment 
for water. 

7. Three or four months after the planting, the ground 

should be gone over and any dead or unsatisfactory 
plants be replaced with others of the like size, so 
that the entire grove may develop evenly. 

8. All suckers and undesirable shoots must be removed 
as soon as they appear. 



To obtain maxiniuni crops and to avoid inequalities and Coffee 
intermittency ot yield, so far as seasons and weather will Planting 
permit, must be a chief aim of the planter; and questions ... 

of soil, planting, pruning and cultivation having been care- 
fully studied, the application of suitable fertilizers inadequate 
quantity and in proper season becomes the paramount 
consideration. 

In the past of coffee-growing in the Antilles, rational 
manuring did not exist. At most, the pulp and parchment 
were returned to the soil, and anv barnyard manure that 
might be available was applied haphazard, in fact, the 
capital stock of the land was the bank drawn upon for the 
production ot crops. 

Under a better system ot agriculture, the application of 
dung or barnyard manure is the time-honoured method of 
restoring to the soil the elements of plant-food of which 
successive crops have depleted it; but an adequate supply 
of barnyard manure is not always available, and the carriage 
ot so bulky a material is costly. Moreover, although farm- 
yard dung is, in a general sense, rightly termed a complete 
manure, and is especially valuable for its mechanical action 
on soils, the proportions in which the principal constituents 
ot plant-food occur in it do not correspond to the require- 
ments, ot the coffee shrub, and barnyard manure will need 
to be supplemented if heavy cropping and healthy growth 
are to be secured. 

At the present day, the application of the scientitic 
principles which underlie the question of plant-foods and 
their supply, is become general, and the grower, whether of 
farm crops, garden stuff or fruits, looks to the teachings of 
agricultural science for guidance in maintaining the soil of 
the farm or plantation in such high condition as to ensure 
maximum yields and enable the plants to resist unfavourable 
seasons and the attacks of parasites by sustained vigour of 
growth. 

The planter cannot be too strongly recommended to 
have the composition of the soil of his plantation ascertained 
by careful analysis, made by an expert agricultural chemist. 
The incidental cost will be amply compensated by the clear 
indications which such analysis will afford in determining 
the nature and quantities of the manures to be applied. 
There is more money sunk in ignorant and careless systems 
of manuring than many proprietors think. 



Coffee It has to be borne in mind that, to manure successfully, 

Planting it is necessary to be acquainted not only with the food 
io requirements of the plant and crop, but also with the con- 

stituents available in the soil for supplying the foods. From 
a comparison ot the demands made by the crop and the 
materials at hand for meeting them, we discover what 
deficiencies exist and are able to determine the most suitable 
and economical materials for supplying them. 

The results ot analyses of the various parts of the coffee 
shrub, and particularly of the grain, show very considerable 
discrepancies, but the essential data which bear upon the 
manuring of the plant may be arrived at without difficulty. 
They indicate that nitrogen and potash are the dominant 
constituents of the shrub and its fruit. Thus, for every 
i,ooo pounds of merchantable coffee produced, about 
twenty-four pounds of nitrogen, twenty-nine pounds of 
potash and four pounds of phosphoric acid are removed 
from the soil. Lime also is an important factor, and, if it 
be deficient in the soil, an occasional artificial supply of 
sulphate of lime, or slaked lime, will be attended vyith good 
results. Kspecially on flat land, rich in vegetable remains, 
lime is valuable for improving the physical as well as the 
chemical condition of the soil. 

Prom a well-managed plantation in full yield, an average 
crop of one and one-half pounds of dressed coffee per tree 
should be readily attainable; and this is the minimum result 
of careful cultivation and liberal manuring that should be 
aimed at. 

Thus, an acre of plantation, representing 700 trees 
thoroughly cultivated and in full bearing, may, at a moderate 
estimate, be taken to yield 1,050 pounds of dressed coffee 
annually. 

Much larger and considerably smaller average yields are 
obtained in other coffee-growing countries. In Ceylon, be- 
fore disease ravaged the plantations, yields of 20 cwt. per 
acre were not infrequently attained, and this is said to be 
also the case in Guatemala. In Mexico, crops of two and 
one-half pounds, and in Brazil three pounds, per shrub 
are said to be common ; whilst, on the other hand, in 
Venezuela the average yield is reckoned scarcely to exceed 
one-half pound per tree. 

In adopting the figure of one and one-half pounds of 
dressed coffee as the lowest yield per tree that the planter 



should look to attain, wc have in view the fact that it Coffee 
is always better to manure for a maximum crop when Planting 
calculating the fertilizing elements to be supplied to the soil. u 

As we cannot, in the present state of our practical and 
scientific knowledge, calculate exactly, in the case of a 
particular crop or of a particular soil, the quantities of 
phosphoric acid and potash to be supplied in order to 
produce the largest yield, or, what is the same thing, in 
order to bring into full activity the assimilable soil nitrogen 
and the nitrogenous manure that is to be applied in con- 
junction with them, the rational course to be taken is that 
of securing an excess of both phosphoric acid and potash in 
the soil. There is no risk of waste or loss in so doing, for 
both these plant-foods ^re fastened up in the soil, and will 
be retained by it for later crops if the next following crop 
is unable to utilize the whole of them. 

With Nitrogen it is otherwise. The Nitrogen is not 
fastened up by the soil, but remains freely movable, and 
any residue left unutilized by the particular crop will, in 
great part at least, be washed down during the succeeding 
rainy months and be lost. The Nitrogen applied in manures 
has therefore to be measured out to each successive crop as 
exactly as possible. 

Duly weighing the foregoing considerations, we arrive 
at the conclusion that the following may be taken as a 
standard formula — to be modified according to local circum- 
stances — of chemical manures to be applied annually per 
acre of coffee plantation containing 700 adult trees in full 
bearing : 

Nitrate of Soda 300 pounds. 

Superphosphate of lime. . .450 pounds. 
Sulphate of Potash 250 pounds. 

In suggesting the foregoing quantities, we have kept in 
view the average food requirements of shade trees. Should 
these, however, be of a kind intended to bear heavy crops 
of fruit, and thus making large demands upon the constitu- 
ents of the soil and manures, the volume of the chemical 
fertilizers applied will have to be judiciously increased. 

One of the main points to be considered in relation to 
the advisability of modifying the formula given above will 
be the contents of the soil in lime. As we have already said, 
recourse to a chemical analysis is strongly to be recom- 
mended, but, failing this, the grower niav easily determine 



Coffee tor himselt, in a rough and ready way, whether the soil of 
Planting his plantation contains a fair and practically sufficient 
13 quantity of lime. 

To quote from "Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs" — a 
useful manual from the pen of Dr. Bernard Dyer : 

" It is only necessary (for this purpose) to obtain a fair sample 
" of the soil and to dry and powder it and to treat it with some 
"•common hydrochloric acid ('spirits of salts'). 

" If the soil contains much vegetable or organic matter, a 
" couple of ounces may be first heated red hot on an iron shovel o\ er 
" the fire. The soil (or its ashes) should then be placed in a tumbler 
"and mixed with water to a thin paste. A couple of ounces of the 
" hydrochloric acid are then poured on it and stirred up with a stick 
" of wood. If the soil effervesces briskh', there is a sufficiency of 
"carbonate of lime. If the effervescence is so slight as to be 
" scarcely noticeable, it is certain that the soil is very poor in lime." 

It the result of this simple test shows a deficiency of 
carbonate ot lime — and it is onl\- lime present in the form 
of carbonate of lime that affects the question — it will be well 
to mix thoroughly the 450 pounds of superphosphate indi- 
cated m the formula with" an equal weight ot bone dust, 
allowing the mixture to stand for some little time before 
being used. As an alternative, 800 pounds of basic slag 
(Thomas phosphate) may be used instead of the super- 
phosphate ot the formula. When, to provide for the case 
of a deficiency ot lime, either of these substitutes tor the 
superphosphate is used, it should be well incorporated with 
the soil, and it will be unnecessary to apply any phosphatic 
manure in the following year, the sulphate of potash and 
the Nitrate ot Soda of the formula being, however, used 
every year. 

A recently introduced fertilizer — the " basic superphos- 
phate," patented in England by Mr. John Hughes — which 
is superphosphate "precipitated" or neutralized by the 
addition ot lime, forms a useful phosphatic dressing for 
soils poor in lime. In its case also, 800 or 900 pounds per 
acre should be used to take the place of the smaller quantity 
of acid superphosphate; and, like basic slag, it should be 
applied every other year. 

It may be well to point out here that coffee soils being 
generally rich in humus, it will usually be the case, at the 
outset of the life of the plantation, that Nitrogen is present 
in quantity more than sufficient to meet the requirements 



V 



ot the shrub tor the production of sev-eral successive crops. Coffee 
But, on the other hand, this Nitrogen will be in organic Planting 
form, and will only become available for plant food after it 13 

has been converted into Nitric acid and Nitrates bv the 
natural processes known as Nitrification. Under the con- 
ditions of tropical climate and raintall, provided there be a 
sufficiency ot lime in the soil, the processes ot Nitrification 
will go on with relative rapidity throughout the vear. But, 
during the large portion of the year represented by the rainy 
season, the Nitric acid and the resulting Nitrates formed 
from the soil humus will be washed down and quickly pass 
into the sub-soil, so that there will be but scant accumulation 
of them in the surface soil, in which alone thev can be 
reached b\- the rootlets ot the shrub and be assimilated to 
build up the structure of the plant and go to feed the crop. 

It is in these circumstances that applications of Nitrate 
ot Soda have their special advantage. The Nitrogen of 
Nitrate ot Soda is in a form in which it can be immediately 
taken up by the plant and is at once available for its 
nourishment, it can therefore be measured out for the 
supply of its nitrogenous wants in the development of 
foliage, flower, fruit and wood. 

rhe pulp and parchment ot the coffee berrv will, on a 
well-managed plantation, be restored to the soil, either alone 
or after being mixed with a little lime and watered, which 
will hasten their decomposition. 

In addition to a moderate proportion of potash, coffee 
pulp in its natural state containsabouto.^jio per cent of Nitro- 
gen ; and the best method of utilizing it is bv mixing it with 
concentrated fertilizers like superphosphate or wood ashes. 1 1 
should be placed under cover and not be allowed to wash out. 

Wood ashes form a concentrated potash manure, and 
where thev can be had in quantity thev should he applied 
together with the pulp, the bulk of which will facilitate 
their uniform distribution. 

1 1 has to be remembered that potash enters largely into the 
composition not only of the coffee bean, as has been shown 
above, but also of the leaves and young wood of the tree. 

Obviously, the restoration to the soil of the pulp and 
parchment will diminish to an extent corresponding to their 
contents in Nitrogen and potash the quantity of chemical 
manures to be applied in compensation for what has been 
removed by the crop. 



Coffee Most soils naturally suitable to coffee contain magnesia 

Planting in abundance; some Jamaica soils contain upwards of two 
li per cent, of it after having been in coffee for a long series 

of years. In the case of soils that may be shown by analysis 
to be deficient in magnesia, it will be well to substitute for 
the sulphate of potash in the formula given above 500 to 
600 pounds of kainit. 

Where the soil of the plantation is distinctly poor in 
lime, the deficiency may be supplied by the application, at 
intervals of two or three vears, ot 400 to 500 pounds of 
gypsum (sulphate of lime) per acre. In such conditions, a 
dressing of gypsum often produces excellent effects, since 
it renders available the potash present in the soil, besides 
supplying lime in a readily assimilable form for the needs of 
the shrub. 

Where dung is available, it should be put on at as 
frequent intervals as possible — say of from four to six 
months — and, in the meantime, the heaps should be pro- 
tected from being washed by rain bv a covering of soil 
beaten as hard as possible. 

The general state of vegetation on the plantation will 
afford guidance as to the greater or less quantity to be 
applied of the several manures. On estates where it is 
observed that the trees are making plenty ot wood and leaf, 
the supply of nitrogen is evidently adequate ; on the other 
hand, on washed estates, it will almost certainly need to be 
increased. The appearance or numerous shoots up the 
stem mav be taken as an indication that the manuring errs 
on the side of excess; a good and sufficientlv manured bush 
will have a healthy grovyth of new wood on the branches to 
form the fruit-bearing branches of the succeeding year. 

It is more prudent and economical to manure and prune 
for a heavier crop than for a lighter. If a high proportion 
of the blossoms set, and fear is entertained ot the trees over- 
bearing, thev may be assisted in time by the application, in 
May, June or, at the latest, in July, of an additional dressing 
of quick-acting manures in the form of Nitrate of Soda, 
superphosphate of lime and sulphate of potash. 

In dealing with a neglected estate, discouragement must 
not be felt if the first application of fertilizers does not 
bring about all the results that are desired. It has to be 
borne in mind that the trees will need to be brought into 
condition. Their partially dried up arteries, through which 



the impoverished sap is only languidly circulating, have to Coffee 
be restored. And when the planter has secured a reniu- Planting 
nerative crop, he must not think that he has done enough. 15 

He must persist in the course which has brought about the 
improvement. Manuring must not be intermitted even for 
a single season. Instances are only too numerous of the 
disastrous results of starving estates previously well culti- 
vated, and of false and short-sighted economy which has 
cost owners thousands of dollars in addition to the deterio- 
ration of the properties. 

A point that should be steadily kept in view is that 
moderate and frequent applications of well-balanced manures 
are decidedly the most eifectiye and the most economical. 

The superphosphate and potash ot the formula given 
above, as also the pulp and parchment after having been 
treated in the manner suggested, should be applied shortly 
after the gathering of the crop has been completed, advan- 
tage being taken of the plowing given at that period to 
turn them under. 

The Nitrate of Soda should be applied broadcast, in two 
or, better still, in three equal dressings, at intervals of about 
a fortnight, the last dressing being given not later than the 
second week in February. 

The practice of depositing the fertilizers in close 
proximity to the stems of the shrubs is to be avoided. 
The dressings should be distributed as evenly as possible 
over the entire area beneath the branches ot the coffee shrubs 
and of the shade trees. 

Constant attention must be given to the mechanical 
cultivation of the soil, and it should never be allowed to 
become hard. Ordinarily, two plowings are given ; the first 
shortly after the crop has been gathered and the second five 
or six months later, advantage being taken of a period when 
the soil is in good working order. To go on the land when 
it is wet is certain to do harm. Perfect drainage — either 
natural or artificial — is of the greatest importance. 

Where the site of the plantation does not allow of the 
use of the plow, cultivation by the spade or the fork has to 
be substituted, the soil being stirred to the depth of about 
a foot, in order to favour the retention of moisture and to 
obtain the greatest possible advantage from the rainfall. 



Coffee Great care must at all times be taken to avoid injury to 

Planting the main lateral roots of the plant in the process of cultiva- 
le tion. It is especially important not to plow, or even to hoe 

deeply, at the time of flowering, in order not to destroy the 
delicate hairs which the rootlets oi the shrub put forth at 
that period. These root hairs are believed to have tor 
their purpose the supply of additional nourishment to the 
plant to assist in the formation of the truit. 

Hoeing should be specially attended to immediately 
before the period of flowering, in order to destroy weeds 
and stray plants which would otherwise appropriate the 
manures applied for the nourishment ot the crop and w ould 
also tend to choke the plants and monopolize air and 
light. 

Where irrigation is had recourse to, it should not be too 
frequent or in too great quantity, since the efl'ect ot an 
opposite course is said to be to diminish the aroma and thus 
to depreciate the quality of the crop. At the period of 
flowering, irrigation must be suspended, even rain being 
prejudicial to the formation ot the berry. 



At all stages of their growth, the trees must be system- 
atically and carefully pruned, with the object of keeping 
them open, so as to insure the penetration of light and the 
free circulation of air, and so also as to preserve only such 
portions of the wood as will bear fruit abundantly and of 
good quality. As in the case of plants in the seed-beds, so 
in the plantation, all suckers and undesirable shoots must 
be removed immediately they appear. 



We have advisedly abstained in these pages from multi- 
plying specific directions, especially any of a hard-and-fast 
character. Such guidance is, for the most part, unnecessary 
in the case of the practical grower, and it might be worse 
than useless to the inexperienced planter, since the adoption 
of such rules must be largely subordinated to considerations 
of soil and season and to the special conditions existing on 
the particular plantation. 

The object which we have had in view has been that of 
stating and enlarging upon the broad and fundamental 
principles which must underlie and govern all sound and 
successful practice. 



THE Chilean Nitrate Propaganda is not engaged 
in the sale of Nitrate of Soda, but will furnish 
a list of dealers to all who apply for it. 

It should be remembered that the original pack- 
age of Nitrate of Soda contains approximately 300 
lbs. of normally dry Nitrate of Soda. Sacks of 100 
lbs. and 50 lbs. are now on the market. 

Nitrate of Soda is generally sold in the origin.,! 
packages and should be stored or kept in a dij 
place. Glass Works and Manufacturers of Dynamite 
and Gunpowder usually have Nitrate on hand. 

If you have any difficulty in obtaining Nitratt, 
either by reason of prohibitive prices or undue delay, 
or on account of inability of dealers to supply you 
promptly, let me know at once, and the difficulty 
will be investigated immediately. 

Correspondence concerning freight charges is 
invited. 

WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director 

CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS 

1 2 John St., New York 




OMMUNICATIONS tecehred from 
farmers and prospective consumers 
interested in the use of Nitrate of 
Soda, who are unable to secure it in 
their immediate vicinity, will be 
promptly referred to reliable dealers 
who will furnish them with this 

special fertilizer. Formulas and valuable information 

sent free. 

Below will be found a list of pamphlets relating to 

the use of Nitrate of Soda as a fertiliser, which will be 

furnished gratis to persons desiring information upon 

any of the subjects named, by applying to 

WILLIAM S. MYERS 

12 John Street j» New York 



How Money Crops Feed. 

How to Use Nitrate. 

Manuring of Orange Plantations. 

Nitrate in the Garden. 

Field Experiments on Market Garden Crop*. 

Food for Plants. 

Nitrate for Money Crops. 

Can the Yield and Quality of Grapes be improved 

by Fertilization ? 
Nitrate of Soda a Blessing to the Arts and to 

Agriculture. 
Notes on Four Years* Experiments on Hop Manuring. 
Sugar Beets for Profit. 
Olive Culture. 
Stable Manure and Artificial Fertilizers upon Fruit 

Trees. 
Usefulness and Comparative Value of Nitrogen in 

Commercial Forms. 
A Review of the Present Knowledge of Sodium 

Nitrate, together with the Origin, Production and 

Destruction of Nitrates in the Soil. 
Grass Experiments. 
Market Gardening with Nitrate. 










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